


Right Where You Left Me

by Wreckmyplanss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Lesbian Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Family, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Longing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29193438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wreckmyplanss/pseuds/Wreckmyplanss
Summary: Carol felt like she was too tired to have the weight of the universe on her shoulders. After the failure to retrieve the stones from Thanos, she fell into a deep depression, longing to take back her regrets and go home to her family. Five years later, when they finally bring everyone back, she doesn't take advantage of the fact that she has a second chance. Running home, she faces Maria & Monica, desperate for the loving arms of her family.
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Maria Rambeau & Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau
Comments: 10
Kudos: 88





	Right Where You Left Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This takes place over the course of Endgame, starting with Carol discovering Maria & Monica are gone, and ending with her getting them back.
> 
> SCREW WANDAVISION CANON, my little gay heart can't take it. Please enjoy this extremely soft and gay fix-it fic.

As her head thumped with an incoming migraine, Carol vaguely wondered how she got here.

It felt like just yesterday she was taking off to the sky, completely lost in the vortex of space as she embraced her newfound identity. It seemed like just yesterday that she set a home for the people she had been protecting, forming a treaty with the Kree to ensure they would never touch them. 

It felt like just yesterday that she had sat outside of the farmhouse, eyes sparkling as she watched Maria and Monica run around in circles, yelling happily.

But no, it was not yesterday. It was a million years ago.

The blonde watched the screen with a dullness in her eyes, a spark hidden behind the uncertainty, a mix of emotions that no one quite knew what to deal with as they eyed her carefully. The rest of the team was new to her, and they didn’t know Carol well enough to understand what relation she had to these people, but they had immediately noticed the shift. The once-confident Carol had immediately faltered when she’d seen their pictures.

How long had she been away, truly? Time worked so differently depending on the planet she was on, it felt like it had only been a few years. She could see in the wrinkles in Maria’s forehead and behind her smile. Monica was a dead giveaway, but her face was much older and more sure of herself, a feeling that gave Carol a sense of pride even though she felt like she didn’t deserve to feel it.

A silence fell over the group, or perhaps that was in Carol’s head. She wasn’t listening, after all. Rather, she gently reached a hand out, feeling the hologram move under her fingertips, distorting the photo underneath. Everyone gave Carol a look as defiance suddenly sparked in her eyes.

“We’re going. Right fucking now.” It’s all she said, lifting her head. Her voice, although determined and sure, still shook a tiny bit, if you listened close enough. 

“And I’m going to kill Thanos.”

\---------

No one had protested when Carol had been the first to bust through Thanos’s door. The team worked like clockwork, moving completely in sync, as though they had been doing this for ages.

It seemed to have been going so well. Carol saw red the whole time, unable to act rationally, allowing her emotions to lead entirely. It had worked well for her until now. However, if she had stopped to think, her military training would’ve kicked her instincts in, giving her pause, as something was clearly amiss here. As she held Thanos’s head with the strength of her upper arm, she listened to him grumble, resisting the urge to break his head off right there.

The realization that the stones were gone had hit them like a ton of bricks. Carol was already out the door before the head of Thanos hit the ground, needing to get out of the cramped space, away from the Avengers who cried silently at the loss of their last hope. She saw nothing in front of her, her vision clouded by the tears in her eyes. 

An exhausted Carol walked to the middle of the closest field, pausing for only a moment before she fell to her knees. She was unsure how far out she was when she started to scream, not knowing if the others heard her.

But she didn’t stop. Not when her throat was raw with pain, not when the ground around her was singed with fire, not even when her limbs gave up on supporting her. Behind her, the avengers swore that they could feel the entire planet shake underneath their feet. 

\---------

Carol lost track of time after a certain point.

Up there in space, it was difficult to keep track of earth years, to really understand where exactly she was going and how long she’d been going there. So many planets and families were torn apart by the snap, that she was always on her feet. Carol had made a home for herself on her little ship all those years ago, although she rarely spent time in it. Today, she found herself sitting on the crappy little couch, feet on the table as she sprawled out.

It was a small but humble space. The entryway was large enough, leading to a massive set of stairs and hallways that led to various rooms such as guest bedrooms, an armoury, and a medical area. The communications area directly connected with the lounge area at the front of the ship, with a kitchen to the left and a “captain’s quarters” to the right. The ship had been her pride and joy for a while, her base of operations that was often left alone when she had places to be.

The call with the remaining Avengers had gone fine, but, as usual, they were no closer to their goal of figuring this out than they were five minutes ago. Carol had searched the stars for answers for what felt like decades, and came up empty. After five terran years, it seems that everyone has given up except for herself and Natasha, who had become a close friend to her. The closest thing she had to a friend, at least. With everyone else she loved disappeared, she really had no one, and figured it was safer to guard her heart than risk the pain again.

Stepping over the wrappers on the floor, she made her way to the kitchen counter and pawed at her ear until she had her earpiece off, setting it down. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her short hair, finding she still wasn’t quite used to the feel of it. Turning around, Carol faced the large window that showed the galaxy she’d always dreamed of as a child.

She wondered, quite often, how far Monica and her crew she’d heard so much about have gone into the galaxy. Carol hadn’t intended for communication to be so nonexistent between them, but duty called for them both. 

Oh how she regretted it now.

The anger became a part of her. It was bitter, like the regret, biting at her brain every second she was awake. She barely remembered the last time she’d slept, running through memories so vivid that she would wake up and start sobbing. Three hours was enough to function most of the time, but the lack of sleep was clear in her eyelids, in the bags under her eyes. For the longest time, Carol had used her emotions and considered them a benefit. Now? She just wanted to be rid of them.

Making her way back to the console, she stumbled over a beer bottle on the floor. Picking it up, she didn’t bother to regard how long it had been laying there before she took a sip. She rarely spent much time sober these days, and although most of the time she would work fine with the alcohol in her system, on occasion she would end up passing out on the floor of the kitchen only to wake up the next morning having burned a hole in the floor in her sleep.

Carol was exhausted in every possible way. Even sitting onto the familiar chair and sighing didn’t feel relief at all. The blonde ran her hand through her hair once more, draining the beer bottle of its last drops before tossing it aside and leaning her head back. No one was allowed in her space, here she could truly be alone, she could pretend nothing was wrong. The Avengers didn’t know of her downward spiral, and no one ever would. She had to keep up a brave front, she had to make herself strong for all those who needed her to be strong.

Hours passed from that point, where Carol’s exhaustion finally took over. She, of course, was unaware, as it could’ve been any hour from this point in space. A faint beeping broke her back to reality, reminding her that she wasn’t dead, that she still had duties to perform. Sighing, she sat up once more, fumbling with the controls as she pulled the screen up.

Ever since she’d programmed her system to notify her when an event was happening on earth, she would get faint notices, often nothing major. Typically, she would contact Natasha afterwards, make sure everything was okay. This, though…

As she pulled up the screen, she noticed how the readings were off the charts. The beeping was volatile, breaking through the sound barrier of the ship. Flipping switches off, Carol couldn’t identify what the issue was simply from the information she was given, but she knew it was big.

Was this it? Was it time? 

Natasha would have informed her if she found something, right? However, it had only been a few earth hours, perhaps the redhead hadn’t gotten the chance. Carol grabbed her phone, checking it a few times before confirming that she hadn’t missed a call. As she flipped a final switch to shut off the beeping, she took off running into her armoury.

She didn’t even bother to shut off the droning lights as she rushed to get ready, grabbing her suit and putting it on as quickly as possible. Sticking her ear piece on, Carol activated her helmet with a shake of her head and then made her way to the back of the ship. Turning on the security measures, she stepped outside into the vast expanse of space and took off.

\---------

Carol recalled a memory, early in her childhood. It was only a few days after her grandmother had passed and Carol hadn’t made an effort to so much as speak to anyone, let alone talk about her feelings.

She had never been close with her parents. Her mother had died when she was very young, and her father seemed more determined than anything to keep her at an arm’s length and focus entirely on her brothers. However, on occasion, however rare, he would show up for her.

Carol had been sitting on a bench outside, looking at the stars, as lost as a child possibly could be. The seat next to her had moved, indicating that someone was there, but she hadn’t bothered to look. Never a talkative one, her father had been fine with simply being quiet, letting Carol feel like she wasn’t alone. Finally, Carol spoke, asking a simple question most children ask after a certain age: “Dad, why do people die?”

Her father had shrugged, having already walked through this conversation with his boys. “Well, Carol, sometimes… sometimes God likes to take away good people. He wants them home, you know?” He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the conversation but pushing through. Even years later, Carol recalled the memory with fondness - her father always did the bare minimum for him, but this one still stuck.

She wasn’t sure if she believed that anymore, though. It was unfair how the good and the strong could die at the drop of a hat. As she stood on that battlefield after watching Tony die, she cursed whatever God was out there, causing this to happen. Allowing men like Tony to die.

As she stood and moved to walk away, the battlefield littered with the sounds of a young boy sobbing, she felt someone touch her arm. Turning around, she faced a young-looking woman, who was smiling softly at her.

“Thank you for saving me out there,” she started, her accent thick and beautiful as the words danced off her tongue. She wouldn’t tell Carol that she was a fan, but she certainly thought it as she extended a hand and offered to shake it. “I’m Valkyrie.”

Carol shook it, her smile tight-lipped but still there. “Carol. It’s no problem, you were a badass out there.”

As Valkyrie continued to smile at her, another approached, much more solemn-faced, but still friendly. “Carol,” he greeted, reaching a hand out to pat her on the shoulder. “Well done out there.”

Valkyrie gave him a _why didn’t you tell me you were friends with her?!_ look, as Carol smiled a little more genuine smile this time. “Nice to see you in one piece.”

As the two exchanged a look, Carol couldn’t help but glance past him, finally taking stock of everyone who was still sitting or kneeling, some engaged in conversation. Her eyes finally fell onto Clint, who was still kneeling on the ground, his forehead touching the dirty floor in front of him. Carol recognized him from Natasha’s stories, and pictures, she was already trying to find him. Glancing around for the friend in question, she raised an eyebrow. When it hit her, she stepped forward, addressing the man she barely knew.

“Hey, where’s Nat?”

Despite the fact that they were outdoors, a silence fell among the group so loud you could hear a pin drop. Thor, afraid of Carol’s wrath, took a smart step aside as the blonde stepped forward some more, closer and closer still towards Clint. Everyone watched with bated breath, even the young Peter Parker looked up from sobbing to watch the scene.

“Clint?” Carol challenged, a questioning expression on her features as she looked at him, noticing how he wouldn’t look up at her. The man seemed to be trembling, fixating on the ground in front of him. He had lifted his head up enough for Carol to see his expression.

If there’s anything Carol hates, it’s a coward.

 _“Barton!”_ She barked, feeling the bubbling of anger dancing on the surface of her sanity. He looked at her, once, and then looked away. It was long enough for Carol to notice the guilt on his face -- a guilt that she knew all too well.

At this, Carol didn’t hesitate, her vision turning yellow as her eyes lit up. Reaching down, she grabbed Clint by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. When she spoke again, her voice was low and dangerous, several octaves below her usual tone. It was enough to make anyone shit their pants, and Clint looked like he was about to. “Where’s Nat?!” 

“Gone!” He managed to choke out, struggling against her. Others stood, but did not dare intervene. 

“Gone?” She questioned, suddenly having flashbacks to holding Thanos at bay. “What did you do?!”

 _“Carol,”_ came the soft words of Thor next to her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She couldn’t control her anger, and he shouted as Carol turned on him, throwing him to the ground. The woman realized then that she was shaking, however the mistake brought her back to earth enough to make her drop Clint, who scrambled away from her.

As she looked around, Carol noticed how everyone was looking at her in fear, as though she might break all of their necks. As she was glowing, she just might.

She hadn’t felt anything like this in a while. She hadn’t felt anger like this in a while. Why did a man like Barton, who was a ruthless murder, get to live but Natasha, of all people had to die? She knew what Barton had done, and she knew what Natasha had done, too. The comparison between the two was abhorrent, and it filled her with an anger she couldn’t shake.

Moreso, why did Tony have to sacrifice himself to save them all when the one person Carol had come to adore on the team couldn’t even be saved?

“Carol,” started someone else, and she finally looked over to see someone walking towards her. Steve, her only other real friend on the team, quelled the fear in his voice as he reached out for her. When he touched her shoulder, she sucked in a breath, trying to compose herself. She already regretted hurting Thor, and she didn’t want to repeat that action.

“Carol, Nat sacrificed herself so we could get the stones. Everyone who disappeared, they came back.” He paused, letting the words sink in. _“Everyone.”_

It was like he flipped an off switch on Carol. The anger faded, replaced by something else. The unstoppable Thanos-killing weapon was replaced by a young woman whose expression mirrored that of a hopeful child. 

“Everyone?” She whispered, to which Steve nodded, glad to have gotten through to her. Carol looked away from him when his hand dropped, suddenly lost. 

Thor had gotten to his feet, nodding at Carol, showing there was no harm done. Looking between her friends, she gave them one last glance before she began to run off.

\---------

What had remained of the compound fell in the rearview mirror as Carol took off to the skies. The blonde hadn’t bothered to say her goodbyes, knowing she would speak to them all eventually. If what Steve said was true, then…

She had memorized the path in her wildest fantasies, memorized the look of the skyline as she approached her destination. She could see crowds in the streets, crowds outside of buildings, more people than she’d seen on any planet in over five years. It felt as though she was looking through a movie lens, it didn’t feel real.

The green surrounding the house felt even less real to her. It had overgrown, covering the door and sneaking in through the windows. The property was surrounded by uncut grass and ever-growing trees, giving the area a very cottagecore feel. Even the lake near them seemed to have grown, beautiful as ever, into the meadow that had once surrounded it.

Carol landed with a thud, burning the ground around her as she slowly came to a stand. Her arms ached and her lungs felt as though they were going to collapse from the battle she’d just endured, but she couldn’t have waited another moment.

It was unlikely that the members of the house didn’t see the fall of the star in their yard. She hadn’t exactly landed subtly, and she cursed herself as she dusted dirt off of her legs. The blonde shuddered as her eyes captured the house in front of her, everything in her body freezing when she saw the door open.

Her breath caught in her throat, Carol had to use every ounce of her self control to keep her emotions intact. She recognized the other woman immediately, not even needing to use a single word to know that smile.

 _“Momma?”_ She heard, the broken cry breaking the eerie silence of the night. Even with all the animals back in the wilderness, it was still quiet out here, making sure that Carol can hear every breath that comes from her own lips. Carol hadn’t heard that nickname for her in so long it almost felt foreign -- a name they had to keep behind closed doors, away from the judgment of the world.

Monica crossed the threshold of the house, running towards Carol, who had finally started to walk forward. Carol could see someone behind the other woman, but before she could react, her every sense was taken over by a hug that nearly knocked her over. The blonde opened her mouth to respond, but she found that she simply couldn’t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the other’s waist, keeping her grip on her as tight as possible. She heard Monica start to sob as she held her tight, and she bit back her own sobs as she closed her eyes.

“You changed your hair,” came another voice, most likely of the stranger behind Monica, who had finally made her way over to them. Carol recognized her voice right away, but she kept her hold on Monica until the younger woman finally pulled away, sniffling and rubbing her eyes.

She was as beautiful as ever; her features older, but an ever-present youth in her eyes. Her hair was pulled back, noted by Carol how she had grown her hair out over the years. There was a ghost of a smirk on her lips, a sadness in her eyes that was overshadowed only by a sense of hope that hadn’t been there since she was much, much younger.

Carol swallowed, her eyes burning a hole into Maria. She realized she had probably been staring for too long when Maria looked away and then back at her, allowing her lips to finally pull into a small smile. “You hit your head, Danvers?” She finally teased, taking another step forward. Carol noticed a slight limp in her left leg, a slight slouch to her shoulders. Years of hard work and trauma that Carol had missed because she had been elsewhere.

She remembered the day she had heard the news, when Maria and Monica’s faces had flashed the hologram in front of her. She remembered when she heard that over half of her allies in space had disappeared, too. She even remembered only an hour ago, when she learned one of her only friends had died.

And finally, the barriers around Carol’s heart, forcing her to always be the strong one, came crumbling down.

Wordlessly, she stepped forward, pulling Maria into a hug that would be bone-crushing if she was even a tiny bit less aware of her own strength. Maria looked like she wanted to say something else, but she changed her mind at the last second, instead running a hand through Carol’s messy blonde hair, her free hand rubbing her back.

She allowed the taller woman to sob into her, her body shaking with every passing moment, gripping Maria tighter. The feeling was only intensified when she felt Monica step forward and wrap her arms around them both, squeezing them tight. 

\---------

It felt like hours before they pulled apart, all crying and sniffling and looking like a general mess.

The inside of the house surprisingly still had electricity and running water, but a majority of it had been overrun by nature. Maria still found cups around the house and a working kettle and before long she had made them all some tea.

“S.W.O.R.D., huh?” Carol commented with a smirk as she took a sip of her tea. She was sitting on the bench porch next to Maria, listening to Monica as she sat on the chair across from her. Maria’s arms were around her shoulders and it was so goddamn domestic that it almost hurt. “Creative name. I like it.”

“It was all mom's doing,” Monica argued, leaning back in her chair as she took a sip of her own tea. “I wanted to name it something cool, like _laser cowboys.”_

Maria scoffed at that, shaking her head as she listened to the two of them laugh into the night air. It felt so calm, so comfortable, that all of them were sure they never wanted the moment to end. However, it had been hours of conversation and catching up, and they were all getting tired.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Monica asked a question that had been dancing on the tip of her tongue for a while. “Are you sticking around?” She asked, speaking directly to Carol. 

The blonde paused, scratching the back of her neck in nervousness. She had made the decision long ago, when she was dwelling in regret and what she’d do differently, but addressing it now felt nerve wracking. She wasn’t sure if the two of them would welcome her back, but she figured even if they denied her, it was time to try and atone for her mistakes.

“I am,” she finally answered, looking up to meet Monica’s eyes. She saw the spark of joy in her daughter’s eyes and she knew she’d made the right decision. “If you’ll have me, of course.”

“Well, someone needs to help me pick up the house,” Maria replied, trying to mask her own joy with a snarky comment. 

“I can help with that, too. Figure I should report back to S.W.O.R.D. sometime, but not yet.” Monica paused, finishing the last of her tea and then standing up. “And with that, the best pilot in the family is off to bed.”

“As if,” Carol scoffed with a smirk as she reached out to gently poke Monica. She listened to the sweet sound of her daughter’s laugh, reeling back her teasing when she felt her kiss the top of her head. 

“Mom’s right, you do need a shower,” she added as one final quip before she walked off. “Goodnight!”

Both women grunted a goodnight, listening to the sound of the screen door closing and footsteps ascending the stairs.

Now left alone, the women settled in their seat once more. Done with her tea, Carol moved forward long enough to set it on the table before settling back in her spot. She shifted, moving to lay her head on Maria’s shoulder, ignoring the tug in her heart that told her to hesitate before doing anything a little too risky.

It had, of course, been a damn long time. Maria had been the love of Carol’s life, and she never quite got over that. They hadn’t exactly agreed about the terms of their relationship when they had parted ways so long ago, but Carol couldn’t help but hope all those years that Maria had waited for her. It was goddamn selfish and even a little bit foolish to want Maria to wait for a mythical woman to come home from the stars, but Carol had hoped for it anyway.

She didn’t see a ring on Maria’s finger, didn’t see anyone else here, but assumptions weren’t safe to play around with. It would be better to be upfront and ask the question she’d always wanted to ask.

Before she had the chance, Maria spoke up. “So, you’re sticking around, huh?”

Carol felt her mouth go dry but she nodded slowly. 

“No one else to rescue up there?” The other woman added, looking away from the trees to look down at Carol. She noticed now how the other woman’s hair was dirty and rough on the edges, as though she’d cut it herself. She smelled of dirt, alcohol, and the faint smell of lavender shampoo, which made Maria’s lips turn up in a small smile. As she spoke, she reached a hand up to gently run fingers through Carol’s hair.

“Doesn’t matter,” the blonde answered, making Maria stop moving and frown down at her. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

Carol sighed, moving so that she was sitting up. She watched Maria’s hand fall and felt a pang of disappointment, but she swallowed it. The difficult conversation was finally here, and she knew that she needed to take the risk and dive in or she would regret it forever. And for someone like Carol, forever was a goddamn long time.

“Uh…” She paused, searching Maria’s features for any anger or resentment, seeing nothing but concern and confusion in her eyes instead. Carol longed to reach out and hold her cheek, or perhaps take her hand, or even put an arm around her waist if she was brave, but… the hesitant voice continued to nag at her. “I set off thirty years ago to try and save people. To make a difference in the galaxy. And I did. I really did.” She paused again, letting the words sink in. There were so many sights she had wanted to show Maria out there, so many creatures she wanted to introduce to her, so many worlds she wanted them to get lost in. There was never going to be enough time, and it had taken too much for her to realize that.

“But it wasn’t enough. I mean, Maria, I did so much out there. Every waking second of my life was busy. It was amazing, yeah, of course it was. But it was…” There was no easy way to open up when she had spent so long bottling it up all, so a tongue ghosted over her lips as she tried to think of how to continue. 

“Go on,” Maria encouraged, offering the other woman a small smile, which she returned.

“It was hard. I always had somewhere to be, always had people to fight for, but it was hard. And then when Thanos did his thing, it -- it was like the same thing, but a million times worse, in every fucking galaxy.” Her voice was rising now, a hand reaching up to run through her hair like it always did when she was anxious. She had noticed lately that she’d developed a habit of tugging on it, too. “I’m so fucking tired.”

“Thought superheroes don’t get tired,” Maria quipped, her voice as gentle as ever. Carefully, she reached up to pull Carol’s hand out of her hair, holding it instead. In that brief moment, Carol was almost certain she would start sobbing, but she composed herself.

“I spent twenty hours a day saving people. And every second I wasn’t doing that, I was thinking of you. I was thinking of Monica. I was thinking of what I would do when I got you guys back, the time I would make up for, the ways I would show you that I never meant to get as lost as I did.”

She paused, letting the words sink in. Maria didn’t answer, she simply stared. She pulled away from Maria’s touch, moving to stand up, pacing as she continued to speak. “I don’t expect you to take me back. I don’t even expect to live here. I-I have my own ship. But I have unfinished business here on earth, and it wouldn’t feel right to leave without taking care of that. It just wouldn’t. Plus --” She stopped pacing, turning to face Maria, giving her an awkward smile. Maria noticed right away how she looked more like a broken young woman than the superhero who had taken off to the stars thirty years ago. “I need a fucking vacation.”

Maria stayed silent as Carol’s speech ended, listening intently. She examined the blonde’s face for any hesitations, and she noticed how young Carol still looked. Their physical age difference was so obvious - where Carol’s skin was smooth, Maria’s was weathered -- but they shared the same eyes that they had so long ago, when they were just kids and in love.

Slowly, Maria moved to stand up. She approached the hopeful-looking blonde, treading carefully with her words. “Take a walk with me,” she finally said, nodding at the end of the porch. “And never call me unfinished business again.”

\---------

Down the steps and into the backyard, Carol trudged alongside Maria, silently letting her lead her wherever she wanted. After a few moments, they stopped at the edge of the property, catching a glimpse of the new lake between the trees. Maria crossed her arms over her chest, waiting before she spoke.

“I waited for so long.” The words kind of stung, but Carol kept quiet, not wanting to interject. “I checked the sky every night just in case you showed up. Fury offered to give me the pager, but I knew it would be safer in his hands, and he would ring you if needed. Instead, I just sat outside and hoped you would return someday.”

She turned, facing Carol, wanting to drill it into the other’s head. “I waited for you.”

It finally clicked in Carol’s head as she realized the exact implications of the words, what “waiting” really meant. Biting back the urge to do something stupid, she just answered. “I never asked you too. I wanted you to live your life, be happy.”

“I was,” she answered, shrugging. “Sure, you were gone, but… I took up Fury’s offer, I formed S.W.O.R.D. I watched my baby girl become a captain. I got back in the cockpit, after I thought I hung up the suit for good.” She stepped forward, making the distance between them to nothing more than a foot or two. “I lived a happy and full life without you, Carol. But I still waited for you. Every goddamn day.”

Carol couldn’t help the way her tears prickled in her eyelids, and she looked down at the ground, feeling a mixture of love and shame that was going to make her explode if this conversation continued. Before she could do it herself, she felt a finger on her chin and she followed Maria’s guide as she lifted her head.

“I’ll wait for you even longer if I have to,” the other woman said, her voice barely above a whisper now. “If you have to go back. I’ll wait forever if you want me to.”

She isn’t sure how to answer. She isn’t sure if she can answer. All of a sudden, she’s 25 again, kissing Maria in the kitchen of their house, sharing loud laughs as they nearly drop all the plates from the counter. She’s 23, exchanging excited looks with Maria behind the sergeant’s back, trying to keep the blush off her cheeks. She’s 27, laying in bed with a sleeping Monica between them, watching as Maria tried to fight off sleep just to stay in the moment as long as she possibly could.

But she’s in her sixties now, and both of their voices are older and more worn-down, and both of them are weighed down by trauma beyond their years. Yet, she still feels like she’s hiding in her twenties, hopelessly in love and not caring who knows about it.

“You don’t have to anymore.” Carol realized her voice was trembling, and she cleared her throat before she continued. “I’m not going anywhere this time.”

“No. You’ll go if you’re needed,” Maria insisted, taking another step forward. “I’ll be right here, right where you left me. And I’ll welcome you back every time.”

Carol swallowed the part of her that was still scared, and figured she might as well take the risk, even though it was seeming less and less of a risk by the second. Reaching up, she cupped Maria’s cheeks in her hands and kissed her softly. All at once, the world disappeared around them, nothing else existing except the two of them. She noticed right away how Maria tasted the exact same as she had so many years ago, with a slight hint of gum in her tongue.

Maria snaked her arms around the blonde’s waist, pulling her in as close as she could as she kissed her back. They both noticed how the kiss was so different yet so familiar at the same time. She didn’t even care that she tasted salt on their lips as Carol’s tears finally spilled over, she only cared about her.

As soon as Maria kissed her back, Carol felt her shoulders relax, finally letting go of the weight they’d been carrying for so many years. The slightest whimper left her lips at the contact, her face flushing when she heard Maria laugh softly against her lips. Even after all these years, she still gave her butterflies, as beautiful as ever and as gentle as ever.

They broke for air after a few moments, resting their foreheads together as they regained their composure. Still holding Maria’s face, she gently tilted her head so she could lean in once more and kiss her on the cheeks, gently sliding up to kiss her on the nose, and on the forehead, and so on. Every kiss felt like fire, as though she had been sitting in the mountains for a million years and finally was allowed to take a warm shower. She thought the feeling would never end.

Other planets could wait. She deserved this, even just for now.

“You lost your touch, Danvers,” Maria complained, a smirk on her lips to show she was just joking.

“Oh did I?” The blonde teased back, pulling away so she could look her in the eyes. If Maria’s flushed cheeks and adoring expression didn’t give her away, the barely open eyes sure did. “I only get better with age -- I can prove it to you, if you want.”

Maria responded by jabbing her in the side with her finger, but she didn’t push away as Carol leaned in for another kiss. This time, Maria snaked her arms around Carol’s neck, pulling her down so she could kiss her more passionately. Carol fought off a smirk and wrapped her arms around Maria’s waist, nearly lifting her off the ground with the force of her hug. Maria choked back a laugh and instead bit Carol’s lip teasingly, causing her to make a muffled noise that made them both be unable to hold back their childlike giggles.

They must’ve stood there for years, for when they finally stopped kissing their lips were red and their eyes glazed over. 

“We should probably go inside before our daughter notices we’re missing again,” Maria said, holding back a chuckle. Carol couldn’t ignore the way her heart skipped a beat when she said that, but she was sure her lovesick look gave her away.

As they turned to leave, she remembered something. “Wait,” she said, putting her hand on Maria’s wrist. The shorter woman paused, looking at the other curiously. Trying to resist the trembling in her limbs, Carol gently moved to hold Maria’s hand instead.

“There’s something else I wanted to do,” she finally says, noticing how Maria’s expression didn’t look less curious or confused. “A long time ago, when we… weren’t able to yet. I didn’t think you’d want to, after all this time, but… you’ve waited for me for so long, and I know I’d wait forever for you. I want to take advantage of every single moment we have together, for as long as possible.”

Maria nodded, understanding. She was growing older, while Carol wasn’t even bothering to age. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her powers, because of her time in space, or a mixture of both, but she knew where it would eventually lead. Someday, Maria would grow old and die, and Carol would be left all alone. 

Carol didn’t care about that. She would never regret this, even if she lived to be a thousand years old.

And so, as she watched Maria’s expression change, Carol slowly moved to be on one knee. “Maria,” she started, making sure the other woman was looking her in the eye. She saw the tears there, and felt her own threatening to fall over. “I could live to be a million years old, and you would still be the love of my life. You own my heart. I don’t want to live another moment without you by my side. I would be honoured to be yours in every way possible. I --” She paused, pawing at her pockets. “-- I had a ring, from way back when, I was holding it for when it was legal, but it’s up on my ship.” Oh well, they’d never been one for planning things well. “You are the most incredible and powerful person I’ve ever met. I would be the happiest woman in the galaxy if you were my wife, officially. Maria Rambeau, will you marry me?”

There was a brief moment of silence and Carol panicked, but it was clearly rendered moot as she felt Maria crash into her, falling onto her bad leg, not bothering to care if it hurt or not. “Yes, Carol, yes, a thousand times yes!” She choked out, gripping at the other woman as tightly as she could.

She allowed herself to cry now, allowing the tears to fall freely. Carol leaned back so she could support the other, and squeezed her back as tight as possible. When they pulled away, Maria pulled her into a kiss that almost knocked them back to the ground. As they broke apart, they were laughing again, a sweet and hopeful sound that filled the yard with music.

From inside the house, Monica looked outside of her window, taking a sip from a water bottle and shaking her head with a grin on her lips. “About damn time.”

**THE END**


End file.
